LGBTQIA PROCESS GROUP:
Navigating healthy relationships with self and others
Wednesdays, 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. | in-person at AMCS – 7891 La Tijera Blvd., in Westchester
$15/ Session
Call 310.670.1410
Chloe Koslo (she/they) x155 / ckoslo@amcshelps.com
Robert Torres (he/him) x213 / rtorres@amcshelps.com
LGBTQIA+ Affirmative THERAPY Center
Airport Marina Counseling Service is proud to have one of the few LGBTQIA+ Affirmative Therapy Centers in Los Angeles. The center specializes in psychotherapy for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender folks and welcome all cultures, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and gender identities.
The center, launched in 2018, makes AMCS the only clinic in the area specializing in services specifically geared toward the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA+) population.
Focusing on making sure therapists are really well-informed and well-trained to give specific treatment to this community, the center is led by Program Coordinator Dr. Mimi Hoang. Because this is an underserved population, there will always be the need for clinicians to understand the unique challenges faced by the LGBTQIA+ community.
Unlike most clinics, AMCS does not limit the number of sessions provided to its clients – a unique model. Often, when using insurance or seeking services in a community agency setting, clients get a limited number of sessions, but at AMCS, we have the flexibility to provide longer-term treatment for our clients.
Study after study shows LGBT Americans suffer from mental health disorders at rates far exceeding heterosexual people — depression strikes gay men at six times the rate of straight men; nearly half of transgender people encounter symptoms of anxiety and depression; lesbians and bisexual women also deal with higher rates of mental health struggles than their straight sisters, with bisexual women faring even worse than lesbians. LGB youth are four times more likely, and questioning youth three times more likely, to attempt suicide as their straight peers; 41 percent of transgender people have attempted to end their lives.
Among the issues people have sought treatment for through thee center are depression, anxiety, relationships, HIV, and coming out support. As is the case with all of its services, AMCS offers its services on a sliding scale.
AMCS is partnering with Antioch University, which launched one of the nation’s first graduate psychology specializations devoted to affirmative psychology for LGBTQIA+ individuals over 10 years ago. Antioch is helping to provide student trainees to AMCS and working with the clinic to make sure its paperwork, intake methodology and public spaces are all affirmative, focusing on client comfort in working toward authenticity and self-acceptance regarding sexual orientation.
It is important for the center to be a safe, welcoming place for everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identify, so AMCS therapists do their best to make that connection. They treat the whole person, not just their sexual orientation or gender.
“We are incredibly fortunate to have someone with Dr. Hoang’s skill and experience leading this center for us,” said AMCS Executive Director Eden Garcia-Balis. “Not only is she the consummate professional, but she brings an enthusiasm, passion, and expertise to the field of affirmative therapy. We are thrilled to have her playing a leading role in this center that helps serve such an underserved population and educate therapists in working with LGBTQIA+ individuals.”
Dr. Hoang is a nationally-recognized psychologist, educator, author, and grassroots activist specializing in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQ+) and Asian Pacific Islander (API) communities. Since the 1990s, she has co-founded three organizations in Los Angeles for bisexual, pansexual, fluid, and other nonmonosexual (AKA "bi+") individuals, authored multiple publications, and earned a seat at the landmark 2013 White House Bisexual Community Roundtable.